I disagree on two points.
 
While spectacle can be excessive, it can be used to help the narritive in
creating a sense of wonder within the audience which makes them easily
manipulated by the filmaker. Where this stops is when the spectacle overtakes
the narrative and the resultant product is only a shell of what is ought to
be. What it boils down to is, the person watching the film starts to enjoy
the sets or effects more than the characters. (George Lucas has interesting
comments on this.)
 
Secondly, I seriously doubt that in this day people have trouble assimilating
virtually any kind of visual information. What examlpes can you site that
would support your viewpoint?
 
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